Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
#204500 05/27/13 09:12 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
How can I open these in RB/PT without having to use Sonar to convert them to *.wav files?


John
ESI Gigaport HD+
Lenovo Turion II /4 Gig Ram/ Win7x64 be
15.6" Monitor
"The only Band is a Real Band"
www.wintertexaninfo.com/BANDS/JohnnyD.php
silvertones #204506 05/27/13 10:02 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Find a good m4a codec and install it.

m4a is not proprietary, no licensing or anything like that, so it is essentially free.

However, I don't know if the pgmusic products are able to recognize them, and apparently not, since you can do it in Sonar on the same machine.

--Mac

silvertones #204508 05/27/13 10:07 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,599
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,599
I'd try renaming the w4a to m4a, or opening with Adobe or Apple app and using 'save as' to get another format. It's an old iTunes (retired) format, IIRC. As Mac mentioned, most m4a codecs will open a w4a file (or should).

simulpost! I was interrupted, so didn't see Mac's post until mine submitted.

Last edited by rharv; 05/27/13 10:10 AM.

I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
silvertones #204616 05/28/13 02:58 PM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
OOPS!!
They are *.m4a.
I guess I'll just have to bitr the bullet and open them in Sonar and save them as .wav. PIA.


John
ESI Gigaport HD+
Lenovo Turion II /4 Gig Ram/ Win7x64 be
15.6" Monitor
"The only Band is a Real Band"
www.wintertexaninfo.com/BANDS/JohnnyD.php
Mac #204617 05/28/13 03:23 PM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,599
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,599
Originally Posted By: Mac
Find a good m4a codec and install it.

m4a is not proprietary, no licensing or anything like that, so it is essentially free.

However, I don't know if the pgmusic products are able to recognize them, and apparently not, since you can do it in Sonar on the same machine.

--Mac


Or install the codec.
Nero, Quicktime, iTunes, .. many free programs have the m4a codec.

M4a appears here in the dropcdown of available file types to open in RB, so it likely just needs to be installed on the system.

Last edited by rharv; 05/28/13 03:25 PM.

I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
rharv #204640 05/28/13 06:28 PM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Originally Posted By: rharv
Originally Posted By: Mac
Find a good m4a codec and install it.

m4a is not proprietary, no licensing or anything like that, so it is essentially free.

However, I don't know if the pgmusic products are able to recognize them, and apparently not, since you can do it in Sonar on the same machine.

--Mac


Or install the codec.
Nero, Quicktime, iTunes, .. many free programs have the m4a codec.

M4a appears here in the dropcdown of available file types to open in RB, so it likely just needs to be installed on the system.

OK I'll find a codec and install it and see how it goes.
BTW How come I can open them in Sonar but not RB?


John
ESI Gigaport HD+
Lenovo Turion II /4 Gig Ram/ Win7x64 be
15.6" Monitor
"The only Band is a Real Band"
www.wintertexaninfo.com/BANDS/JohnnyD.php
silvertones #204675 05/29/13 06:22 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Sonar may have the codec imbedded in its code and available only when Sonar is running.

What you need for pgmusic products is to have the codec installed in the System because that is where these - and a lot of other - programs look for it.

rharv #204681 05/29/13 06:56 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Originally Posted By: rharv
Originally Posted By: Mac
Find a good m4a codec and install it.

m4a is not proprietary, no licensing or anything like that, so it is essentially free.

However, I don't know if the pgmusic products are able to recognize them, and apparently not, since you can do it in Sonar on the same machine.

--Mac


Or install the codec.
Nero, Quicktime, iTunes, .. many free programs have the m4a codec.

M4a appears here in the dropcdown of available file types to open in RB, so it likely just needs to be installed on the system.

Odd!!
I can play them in Sonar & with Win Media Player.I DL Quicktime and now they show up in RB but the file shows a flat line. They won't play in the QT player either.


John
ESI Gigaport HD+
Lenovo Turion II /4 Gig Ram/ Win7x64 be
15.6" Monitor
"The only Band is a Real Band"
www.wintertexaninfo.com/BANDS/JohnnyD.php
silvertones #204703 05/29/13 10:10 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Quicktime and the PC have been getting weirder and weirder in operation here IMO, with upgrades forcing iTunes install even if you don't use iTunes.

But don't expect to get it to work via the System by installing players and other softwares where the codec is secondary to the software.

Read what I said above carefully, then go Bing and find a standalone codec that installs to the system.

All this may not be worth it, John, there are some things I have to use one program to open and convert in order to use them in another. Just part of the job at that point.


--Mac


--Mac

Mac #204704 05/29/13 10:12 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Originally Posted By: Mac
Quicktime and the PC have been getting weirder and weirder in operation here IMO, with upgrades forcing iTunes install even if you don't use iTunes.

But don't expect to get it to work via the System by installing players and other softwares where the codec is secondary to the software.

Read what I said above carefully, then go Bing and find a standalone codec that installs to the system.

All this may not be worth it, John, there are some things I have to use one program to open and convert in order to use them in another. Just part of the job at that point.


--Mac


--Mac

I think you are right.


John
ESI Gigaport HD+
Lenovo Turion II /4 Gig Ram/ Win7x64 be
15.6" Monitor
"The only Band is a Real Band"
www.wintertexaninfo.com/BANDS/JohnnyD.php
silvertones #204724 05/29/13 03:40 PM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,599
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,599
Sorry to have wasted time with the installs (and probably uninstalls),
all the .m** files work here .. and I don't have QT or iTunes installed. I think Nero 9 did it if I recall correctly.
Other machines here (kids and wife) play these formats in WMP, so playbeack there may be a false positive. WMP (via Windows) has separate 'read' codecs than 'decode' codecs. MP3 is an example of that.
Standard Windows install lets WMP play all kinds of MP3 bitrates .. but if you try to record or recode using the same codec no dice. I guess it's OK one way and not the other according to their license for MP3.

May be the same for m4a.


I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
silvertones #204728 05/29/13 04:08 PM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
It is my understanding that the m4a has no licensing.

Mac #204737 05/29/13 06:25 PM
Off-Topic
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,047
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,047


FrankB

Down The Street vs2015 12-03-2014
Win7, AMD QuadA8-5500,16GB,2TeraHD, Komplete 10
PG Ultra Plus 2016,Alesis 12USB, Sonar Platinum
seeker #204790 05/30/13 09:06 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Originally Posted By: seeker

I'll try that as it seems I can drag all the songs in and batch process. Cool!Thanks


John
ESI Gigaport HD+
Lenovo Turion II /4 Gig Ram/ Win7x64 be
15.6" Monitor
"The only Band is a Real Band"
www.wintertexaninfo.com/BANDS/JohnnyD.php
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos

With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.

Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.

Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!

Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!

Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.

Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!

Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.

2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.

Holiday Weekend Hours

As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:

April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours

Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!

— Team PG

Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!

If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!

If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.

Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® users: Build 1237 is now available!

Already a Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows user? Stay up to date and download the build 1237 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.

PowerTracks Pro 2026 for Windows is Here!

PowerTracks 2026 is here—bringing powerful new enhancements designed to make your production workflow faster, smoother, and more intuitive than ever.

The enhanced Mixer now shows Track Type and Instrument icons for instant track recognition, while a new grid option simplifies editing views. Non-floating windows adopt a modern title bar style, replacing the legacy blue bar.

The Master Volume is now applied at the end of the audio chain for consistent levels and full-signal master effects.

Tablature now includes a “Save bends when saving XML” option for improved compatibility with PG Music tools. Plus, you can instantly match all track heights with a simple Ctrl-release after resizing, and Add2 chords from MGU/SGU files are now fully supported... and more!

Get started today—first-time packages start at just $49.

Already using PowerTracks Pro Audio? Upgrade for as little as $29 and enjoy the latest improvements!

Order now!

Forum Statistics
Forums57
Topics86,174
Posts801,574
Members40,062
Most Online64,515
Apr 8th, 2026
Newest Members
Chione, Armando D'Errico, PhilinPhil, RBDavis1957, Trenamusic
40,062 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 135
zedd 107
rsdean 103
DC Ron 100
Noel96 78
Today's Birthdays
Bernard Rasson, John Temmerman
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5